If Nora were in a cartoon, her mood would've been illustrated as a constant buzzing black scribble floating over her head.

She walked into school with an uneasy feeling, just knowing it wasn't going to be one of her favourite days ever. Things were going to be awkward at best, what with having most of her classes with either Ned or Peter, or worse, both of them. Physics and Spanish were the ones she was dreading the most, one class filled with overwhelming awkwardness to start the day and an extra dose of uncomfortableness to end it. She was fairly sure Peter hadn't told Ned of their breakup, which was a conversation she was sure he was not looking forward to. Nora had offered to help, but he had told her he'd rather take most of the heat. It was almost as if he knew that she was not up to anything that had to do with proper social interaction after that whole fiasco. Nora had to smile, even though they were on thin ice with each other, they still wanted to make sure the other was alright. 

Spanish was fine, Ms. Suarez seemed to have gotten the atmosphere in the room and assigned group projects, putting Peter and Nora in completely different groups. That still doesn't stop the forlorn looks they would shoot at each other, when the other wasn't looking of course. Nora felt bad for her group, she barely contributed due to the amount of time she wasted trying to stare at Peter. Thankfully, Ned didn't catch on throughout the entirety of the class, and for a split second Nora thought they could get away with this. Lunch however, proved her wrong.

Entering the cafeteria was fine, she was able to slip through relatively unseen. She had packed a lunch for herself that day, as a way of stealthily sneaking to a table without having to wait in line. She placed the lunchbox on the table, sitting down with a sigh. She only had a few classes left, she could get through the day, she knew she could. She wasn't going to let some stupid boy ruin her education, even if she already was doing that without him. Seriously, she was lucky parent teacher conferences were long done, otherwise her geography teacher would be having a serious discussion with her father.

Far too enwrapped her own problems, she didn't take note of the stack of books landing in front of her, or the travel mug of tea placed next to it. She did, however, notice the person slipping into the seat with ease, another giant novel in her hand. Looking up through her lashes, Nora saw the unamused resting bitch face of Michelle Jones, but she wasn't looking at her. "Hi?" she said quietly, unsure if she even wanted to talk to her.

"S'up." she said, turning a page in her book. "Is it alright if I sit here?"

A little bit flustered, considering this may have been the most words she'd ever heard come out of the girls mouth outside of decathlon and the scathing debates she had with the history teacher, she nodded. "Uh, sure, I don't mind."

"Good, because I wasn't moving." Nora frowned before shrugging, picking up a piece of watermelon with her fork. "So, you and Parker broke up, huh?"

Nora nearly choked on the piece of fruit in her mouth. "Wha—?" Michelle just raised an eyebrow, as if still waiting for an answer. "How did you know?"

"You're both not very subtle. The amount of times I've caught either of you sighing at each other is kind of weird. Bad breakup?"

"Kind of. We both didn't want to break up, but it had to be done."

Michelle almost smiled, sipping her tea. "Wow, for kids who play with legos, you're both really mature when it comes to decisions."

Nora chuckled, hand cupping her chin. "I don't play with lego, I watch them and coach." she cleared her throat, correcting herself. "Watched. I watched them and coached."

The girl in front of her took a breath, as if trying to word this in a way that wouldn't end up with her foot in her mouth. "Look, before this turns into some weepy melodrama, I'm gonna be honest with you."

Her lips quirked a little. "I wouldn't trust you to be anything other than that."

"I'm sorry about you and Peter, break up's suck and..." she trailed off, hesitating to continue. "And I know that your friend kind of bailed on you earlier this year, that probably sucks as well. I just," she sighed, making Nora copy her earlier move and raise her brow at her. "I want you to know I'm here for you."

Smiling fully for the first time in a week, Nora grinned from ear to ear. "Wow, Michelle, thank you. That's very kind."

The pained expression dropped. "Tell anyone and I'll deny it."

"I won't. I'm good at keeping secrets." an inside joke that made her laugh. It would've made Peter laugh too. 

Michelle gave her a tight lipped smile, before going back to her book. Nora could feel that imaginary black scribble erase slightly from the top of her head. Together, the two sat in silence, one drinking her tea periodically while the other ate her watermelon with a not so subtle smile on her face. Ten minutes passed when Michelle stood, collecting the books in one hand and holding her tea in the other. "Alright, I've got to go argue with the librarian for a few minutes before I can convince her half these books are not overdue."

Nora tilted her head to the side. "Need some backup?"

"No, if anything you need to be here." Nora didn't get time to ask why as Michelle pointed to the other side of the cafeteria, where Ned could be seen dragon Peter by what she could see was his ear. Nora knew in that second that he was letting him, Peter was strong enough to resist him very easily, so this was just to make Ned feel like he was taking control of the situation. Michelle walked away, and Nora could feel the black scribble force itself back over her head, her sombre mood reappearing. Ned stomped toward her, yanking Peter behind him.

"Ow, ow, Ned!" Peter winced, making people around them stare and snicker. 

 "Let go, man!"

Ned did let go, letting Peter fix himself beside him. "You two broke up?" he all but shrieked.

Nora scowled. "Say it louder, Ned, I don't think the kids at the other end of the hall heard you."

Beside him, Peter gave her a look. "Sorry, he got it out of me."

The girl wondered how the hell he was able to keep his alter ego a secret for so long.

At this point, Nora started to pack up her things. "Yes, we broke up. Stuff happens."

"Yeah, Ned, it's not a big deal." Peter said, exchanging a small glance with Nora. It was a big deal, considering why they broke up, but they weren't going to tell him that.

Ned's head whipped from his best friends to his other best friends, a complete disbelieving look on his face. "Not a big deal?" he parroted, shaking his head. "No, no, no. This was not how it was supposed to be."

Both began to protest, but were interrupted by the sound of a chair scrapping against the linoleum floor. "Sit, we're discussing this." Peter didn't feel like he could say no, so he did as he was told, sitting beside Nora who had to stop the awkwardness flooding her body. "Now, tell me what happened."

"Who're you, Dr. Phil?" Nora quipped, making Peter snigger.

"I need to figure out what went wrong and fix it."

"Nothing went wrong, we just realised it would be better if we stayed friends." Peter supplied, Nora going along with it with a nod.

"For who?" their relationship councillor squawked.

"For us." Nora replied in a 'duh' tone.

"But...but it can't end. You two are meant to be together. You write each other notes, you care about each other too much to be 'just friends', Peter's never gonna get another shot at this relationship stuff!" he ignored the sharp, 'hey!' Peter threw his way. "It's like...fate or some shit!"

Peter scoffed, Nora just rolled her eyes, but there was a part of both of them pondered that thought. Fate, whether they believed it or not, did have a way of bringing them together. Nora couldn't go on the second biology trip, Peter got powers, Nora became a hero because of those powers, they fought together. Most of the big things happening in their lives included each other in some way. Maybe Ned was right, maybe fate did influence their relationship. They weren't going to let him know that though.

"It's not over. It's just not happening now." Nora said, if a little distracted.

Shoulders sagging a little, Peter nodded. "Yeah, sorry to disappoint."

Ned looked at them like they had murdered his entire family. "My dreams are crushed, my grades are failing, my skin is breaking out." Nora laughed a little, watching his little show in front of them before he glanced up at them, way more serious. "You guys are still going to be friends right?"

There was silence between them before Peter eyes cast to her furtively. "I mean, yeah, if you want."

Nora tucked her hair behind her ear, a blush tinting her ears. "Well, yeah, I guess."

Ned's eyes darted between the two in front of him before he smirked to himself.

These two were bigger idiots than he was about their love lives.

-

Shopping was usually a chore to Nora and her family, but mention the words ball gown and the Mendes family will flock to the nearest clothes shop.

Their dad had told them the NYPD were holding a ball to commemorate those lost to the Battle of New York, and all of police captain's and their families were invited. Aliya and Nora had practically jumped out of their seats at the prospect at getting dressed up while Rafe had screamed about getting to take his boyfriend somewhere special for once. That had been days ago, and now with the ball commencing on the Saturday coming, the three siblings, plus Leo, were perusing the racks of dresses and tuxes around them. Aliya held a black dress to her body, looking at herself in the mirror before shaking her head and putting it back.

"So, let me get this straight, am I the only one with a date to this thing?" Leo asked, trying to tie the bowtie on his neck.

Rafe walked up and went to fix it for him. "Don't act so surprised."

Aliya nodded. "Yeah, you lovebirds, you're the only two in a stable relationship, we get it." she said in an exaggerated tone.

Nora went on her tiptoes to catch a glimpse at her sister. "I thought you were with that guy, what was his name, Hudson or Cato or something?"

"His name was Joe, and we didn't work out." she held up a pink dress to her sister. "What do you think?"

Nora grimaced, shaking her head. "Too pink."

Aliya put it back. "And what about you, Nora, don't you have a boyfriend or something?" Leo asked, turning around in his spot, completely missing Rafe slicing his hand across his throat.

Nora froze for a second, swallowing down the lump growing in her throat before she recomposed herself. "Um, no, I don't. That didn't end well."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Leo said, lips pressing together in a sad smile. "No one told me." he said through gritted teeth, glaring at Rafe who shrugged, laughing sheepishly.

Trying to relieve tension, Nora waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "No, it's okay, I've wasted enough tears on that boy." in an effort to distract herself she took some random dresses off the racks and disappeared into the dressing room. "I'm taking time for myself, and all that stupid Rom-Com shit."

Leo called into her. "Good for you!" he then gave Rafe a look, whispering. "That's rough."

Aliya stood next to them, folding a red dress over her arm. "She was pretty wrecked by it."

"I would've treaded more carefully, if someone were to have told me."

Rafe folded his arms, a pout on his face. "Not my fault you don't give me time to tell you when you're—"

Nora lifted her hand out above the dressing room, pointing a finger in their direction. "I can hear you, and I don't want to know." hearing them all chuckle, she opened the curtains to reveal herself in a white dress that stopped at her knees in the front and continued to her ankles at the back. She fiddled with the sweetheart neckline with a grimace, realising her bra was fully on show. "Thoughts?"

"No." they all said at once, making her frown.

"Alright, don't strain yourselves trying to complement me." with that, she disappeared back into the dressing room.

Leo took off the bowtie, and the tux jacket he had paired it with. "Alright, I think I'm gonna buy these, I'll meet you in a little bit." he pressed a chaste kiss to Rafe's cheek before walking to the find the checkout. When he was out of sight, Rafe and Aliya rushed over to the entrance to the changing rooms, voices low.

"So," Rafe started, "how're we gonna get your suit in?"

Nora poked her head out from the room. "Huh?"

Aliya leaned against the door frame, letting someone pass them. "Sure, Rafe, tell the whole world while you're at it."

Their brother shot her a glare, but did lower his voice. "Y'know, bringing your suit, in case bad guys get the drop on you."

Nora scoffed. "Why would bad guys a: know who I am and b: make the stupid decision to crash a police captain's ball, where there are police...with guns."

"It never hurts to be prepared."

Hearing this, her brow furrowed. "But you're not the one who has to be prepared. That's my job."

Aliya shrugged. "We're a team now, we help you, so it is our job."

"But you have Leo." Nora said, a weird feeling arising at the thought of her siblings lives being affected so much by her crime fighting escapades.

"Look, you've said it yourself, no one's gonna risk infiltrating something like this. We'll bring the suit just in case."

Nora thought for a moment before opening the curtain to reveal a gold, sleeveless gown that reached the floor. It shimmered under the florescent light, the pleats in the skirt overlapping and curling as she twirled the skirt around. "Just in case, do you hear me?" Rafe smiled at his sister, bringing her into a hug. She groaned, though not rejecting it. "Oh, alright, alright."

Just in case. Little did she know how much she would need that suit.

-

In a back alley in Manhattan, two people stood, a van parked behind the first. Tense silence enveloped the two before one more person came running into the alley. "Hey, I'm sorry I'm late."

The man in front of the van gave him a glare, grumbling. "Don't let it happen again. The boss doesn't like when things don't go to plan."

"Look, man, do you have the guns or not?" the other asked impatiently.

The man in front of the van knocked on the door, revealing another man from inside who pushed out a few boxes of glowing weapons. The two buyers looked down in awe at the arsenal in front of them. Guns of various sizes, ranging from handheld to big machine guns were at their disposal. The two glanced at each other, grinning wide, they had hit the jackpot. Pulling out a cheque book, one began writing one out. "Now, do you have anything to get guns to jam?"

The one in the van laughed, a maniacal laugh that sent shivers down their spines. "There's shit we got in here I still don't even know how to work. This alien tech is something else."

"Alien tech?" one of the buyers asked. "Where'd you get it?"

The man just touched his temple, a large brass knuckle contraption attached to his arm. He rummaged around the van for a bit before throwing a small device at him. "That'll do the job." Finishing off the cheque, he handed them the money. "What are you planning to do with this shit?"

The two looked at each other a moment before one replied. "We're getting revenge."

The man who was leaning against the van raised an inquisitive brow. Normally, they sold to robbers or crime gangs, not people like this. "On who?"

The other buyer had a murderous look in his eyes as he held one of the guns in his hands.

"Someone who calls herself Mercy."

-

A/N: I cannot wait for the next two chapters, I've been waiting to write them for so long. Also, I know there isn't a real captain's ball, so I just made something up. 

Don't have that much to say, other than Tisha finished her story and I am the most proud dude a dude can be. 

Hope you guys enjoyed. 

Comment, vote & follow! - Emma